Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1012061
IN THE WIND P40 YAMAHA CONTROVERSY: VINALES SPLITS WITH FORCADA Y amaha bosses had to put a gag order on wayward rider Maverick Vinales to stem an overflow of ill will on the Span- ish rider's side of the Movistar- backed factory team garage. The unhappy teamster's growing row with crew chief Ramon Forcada took on a new public dimen- sion at Brno over the August 3-5 weekend. In his second year with the factory team, the Spaniard's results have never really recov- ered from the slump he ran into in the middle of last season, and his comments to the media have reflected an increasing desire to shift the blame. The major target has been his crew chief Forcada, who performed the same duties for Jorge Lorenzo during his Ya- maha years. But growing friction between the Spanish technician and his rider has come to a head over the last few races. On Friday morning, Vinales— whose contract with Yamaha was renewed for 2019 and 2020 back in January—revealed that the pair will definitely split at the end of this season. Further rumblings this weekend suggest it might even happen before then; after Forcada responded with an interview with Spanish TV, in which he complained that Vinales "had not even had the courtesy to tell him about the split" before talking to the press. Forcada is a respected figure who has been with Yamaha for 11 years, and shepherded Lo- renzo to 44 race wins and three championships. He confirmed he expects to stay with Yamaha, and is earmarked for the new Petronas-backed SIC Yamaha satellite team planned for next year, where Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo are on the slate as riders. Vinales will take another Span- iard, Esteban Garcia, currently crew chief for Bradley Smith at KTM, who worked with Vinales in Moto3. There are other changes on the horizon for Yamaha. At the same time, Vinales' rider-coach, former 250 GP winner Wilco Zeelenberg, is also set to leave to manage the new Petronas squad. The team is to take over Jorge "Aspar" Martinez's Angel Nieto Ducati Team grid slot and take over from the current Tech3 satellite team, which is switching to KTM. In another highly visible change, Tech3 sponsors Monster will take over title sponsorship of the factory team from Movistar. Moving to KTM with Tech3 was ruled out because of the Austrian company's connection with rival energy drink Red Bull. Michael Scott It's all gone pear-shaped between Moviestar Yamaha's Maverick Vinales (left) and crew chief Roman Forcada.